Data Security

Hotel chain Marriott might find itself in more trouble than its 2014 FCC fine. A senior developer at the XDA Developers Forum has revealed that the chain's mobile app might have allowed unauthorized people to gain access to private information, including names, addresses, contact numbers and credit card information. Though the app has said to have been plugged up now, the security flaw has been in existence for almost four years, exponentially increasing the possible ramifications and victims of this exploit.

For the security-conscious among us, 1Password has proven itself an indispensable tool. The app — available for iOS, Android, Windows, and OS X — both manages and generates secure passwords for you, and their new TouchID features are promising. An update, rolling out for iOS users today, brings in the ability to generate one-time passwords as well as some new features for their app extension. Sync is also improving , as is 1Password’s language support, in what the AgileBits team calls their ‘awesomesauce’ update.

According to a new report from The Beijing News, Apple will begin allowing the Chinese government to carry out security inspections on its devices that it sells in the country. The purpose for this agreement would be to address China's recent fears about iOS devices allowing access to sensitive information from both customers and the government. The deal was reportedly made between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Lu Wei, director of the director of Chinese State Internet Information Office.

The HealthCare.gov website is no stranger to controversy, and latest to that is a discovery that some personal details about users -- including how old they are, their state and zip code, annual income, parental status, and more -- are being delivered to more than a dozen third-party websites. The information was first revealed by the Associated Press, and has since been investigated and confirmed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF.org). The information is being shared even if Do Not Track has been enabled.

Both Khan Academy and Google, as well as thirteen others, have joined the growing list of companies pledging to protect students' privacy. President Obama spoke about the pledge last week, and before doing so several companies including Apple and Microsoft had signed. A total of 75 companies had signed last week, and Google and Amazon were both criticized for not doing so. On Monday, 15 new companies -- including Khan Academy and Google -- jumped aboard. This follows the administration's increased push for data security.

Each year, Microsoft surveys Internet users around the world. Each year, we get a pretty good sampling of what drives us as we grind through life, and an even better idea of what our concerns are on a large scale. Sourced from several digitally developed nations like South Africa, Brazil, China, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Japan and the US, 12,002 respondents gave a good synopsis of what benefits and pitfalls the ‘net has, and how it helps — and hinders — us all.

President Obama thinks you should be protected if you’re connected. On Monday, the President called for the passing of the Personal Data Notification and Protection Act, which would require you to be notified within 30 days if a company you did business with as a consumer or professionally were breached. Secondly, the President wants access to your credit score to be simpler so you can manage your credit data should a hacker wreak havoc on your financial standing, giving you an early start on fixing the problems.

The Internet of Things is quickly advancing toward "household name" status, and as adoption of devices using the technology grows, so do concerns about the privacy of those who use them. We've heard stories in the past of IoT devices leaving user data vulnerable, and it is a common story when websites aggregating insecure connected cameras pop up. Now the FTC is stepping in, warning those making the devices that they need to ensure user security is a top priority.

In the wake of Edward Snowden once again making revelations about the NSA’s widespread and troubling spying and information gathering, we’re getting a better idea of the lengths the United States Government agency went through to soak in knowledge. We’re also finding out how hard it can be to get the information they desire. Though a single “secure” system may be easy to crack, Snowden says a layering of several might actually render you totally safe from the prying eyes of big brother.

While the concept of "the cloud" has been around for more than a few years now, it still feels like the idea, and use, of "cloud storage" was adopted at such a rapid rate. And that makes sense, looking at how the ubiquity of smartphones and tablets has exploded in the last 7-8 years. As evidence of the importance of cloud storage these days, a new report has found that half of all mobile photographers rely on cloud services in some way for keeping their photos.